Saturday, October 13, 2012

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Last night, I was helping him in the bathroom. He had just finished taking a bath, was wrapped in a towel while standing on a stool, when he pointed at the bathroom mirror and said the Chinese, which my wife told me was, for mirror.

Knowing this only added to the mystery of what he was saying because he said mirror in an imploring manner. I had to ask my wife why it was that he wanted the mirror. I thought he wanted me to give him the mirror which was impossible because it was attached to the wall. She didn't know either, until she figured out that Tony wanted to stand in front of the mirror and look at himself. So I moved the stool so that Tony could look at his reflection.

The vain little bugger! And I am jealous of his Chinese ability.

**What is the Chinese word for mirror? Tony said it ten times and I still can't remember. One of the words was the Chinese word for self: zhi, I believe.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Monday, October 1, 2012

Earlier in the day, Dad gave Tony 3 rmb and told him to buy a bottle of ice tea at the local small shop. It was with great pride that Dad saw Tony go to the shelves, find a bottle of ice tea, and then go to the cashier to make his payment.

In the evening, Mom instructed Dad to take Tony to the bathroom at the local KFC. Dad had to make sure Tony washed his hands. Tony raced to the bathroom and by the time his father arrived, he had washed his hands. Dad washed his and felt the urge to urinate. Tony rushed out and Dad assumed that he was heading back to his mother. When Dad finished his business, he walked out and didn't see Tony with his Mom, and he then saw that Tony wasn't at the playground. He kept looking and couldn't see Tony anywhere. With the area around the KFC crowded because it was the National Day Holiday, Tony wasn't going to be easy to find. Tony's parents began to panic. Tony's Mother went to the find went to the customer service area to have the P.A. make an announcement. Dad ran around the shopping area, screaming Tony! Tony! Tony! He and Mom worried that Tony had been kidnapped. Dad's life was flashing before his eyes. Dad was quite a sight: a foreigner screaming at the top of his lungs, but this was a good thing because the locals did try to help him. Eventually, someone lead Dad to Tony. Tony had gone to the playground like his mother had first assumed, but he had done to an area that was in a corner and hidden from his parents who in their panic overlooked it. Reunited, Dad was relieved but tears came to his eyes. Mom came about a minute later, and was crying and angry at Tony because he had ran off without telling anyone.

The episode of missing Tony lasted about ten minutes but its effects on his father would be everlasting.